Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by superspak:

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, Winter 2012 bottling. Pours cloudy almost opaque dark reddish brown color with a small light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big caramel, raisin, dark bread, brown sugar, toffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, earth, roasted malt, chocolate, and light herbal. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of malt and spice notes. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, molasses, raisin, dark bread, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, roasted malt, chocolate, toast, prune, earth, and light herbal spiciness. No bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, dark fruit, dark bread, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, roasted malt, chocolate, and herbal earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and complexity of robust flavors; with a nice malt backbone over the spices; and almost zero cloying flavors present after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy and slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very nice winter warmer style. Very nice robust and balanced flavors; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.

More User Reviews:

Pours a dark brown color with a huge foamy off white head. Good retention. Leaves a lumpy, uneven head with spotty lacing.

Aroma is heavy on spices, ginger, molasses, graham cracker, cinnamon, and a hint of caramel. Very pleasant.

Tastes like a porter. Lightly roasted chocolate and nuts. Brown sugar. A small amount of hops. Gingerbread is still there, though not as strong. Very faint cinnamon. A little too heavy on the spice, though. There's really not much going on in the taste, unfortunately. It just kind of lacks character, if that makes sense. A little more hop bitterness than expected here.

Medium bodied. LIttle carbonation. More of a sipper at 8.75%.

Overall, started out with good potential, even after the first sip, but really faltered from there. Still a solid brew, but not DH's best, so don't go out of your way for this one.

Pours into a becker a deep roasted walnut brown with a creamy half finger tan colored head atop,great color and love the creamy head.Winter mulling spice and sweet alcohol in the nose,alot of nutmeg is detected.Lower carbonation with a creamy feel,it slides down easy.Spicy to the hilt on the palate with some cake-like notes,like a CHRISTmas spiced cake,the alcohol sweetness gets bigger as it warms.This a winter sipper,like others have noted, you can't drink to much of it,a full on spicy winter warmer here.

First sip brings smooth semi-sweet roasted malts wrapped in a warm blanket of spices. Clove, nutmeg, ginger and some cinnamon. Tastes like a spiced dark rye bread. Flows down with a bit of sweetness and lots of lingering spice. I can see how some may find it overly spiced but to me it was very enjoyable.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, creamy and smooth. The malt body here is well placed and the alcohol is never too much in the flavor. This ends up being quite warming in the end and the mix of spices really work. I personally enjoy the forward clove aspect. A stellar spiced brew from Dark Horse. Paired well with some Carr Valley Menage cheese and fun to drink in the summer. Thanks hoppymeal!

Taste: Some spice upfront, but a very sweet core of fruit (plum, cherry, berry), chocolate and even light coffee. The spices are evident and lingering on the finish, with nutmeg, clove and allspice. There may be some English-style hops as well, but it could be mainly the spices.

Feel: Medium to full body with moderately low carbonation. Finish is more sharp than truly dry.

Overall: Some Porter/Stout notes with this Spiced Winter Warmer. It actually reminds me of a ramped up Anchor Christmas Ale, which is mostly a good thing, but this beer is not quite as harmonious. Still, this is a good choice for the Holidays.

Appearance: Pours a dark blackish brown with a moderate amount of rising bubbles. About one finger of tan head that quickly fades into a thin patch. Leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass. Some sediment settles around the bottom.